Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

SPONSOR, WEEK ^ Negro Middle Class Is New Marketing Target study by a leading station rep in Negro-appeal radio field details sizable gains in Negro income, entry into important 'middle income' group in key markets New York — The failure of a sizable "white backlash" to materialize in the recent presidential election, and the solid vote of confidence afforded the Johnson administration by U.S. Negroes underlined for advertisers, in the opinion of many marketing experts, the growing power of the country's 20 million Negroes as a social and political force. Now. there's new information for admen which also establishes the growing economic power of the U.S. Negro market — a market whose homes listen to radio nearly 25 percent more than the radio listening level in white households. The new data collection comes from Bernard Howard & Co., one of the top Negro radio rep houses, in the form of a 24-market study called "The Arithmetics of Negro Spending." Jay M. Gould, managing director of Market Statistics. Inc., research firm commissioned by the Howard firm to do the study, sums up the study results in these words: "We fully believe that these estimates present a realistic picture of the current magnitudes of Negro population, income and retail purchases in the 25 leading metro areas of the nation. They show that the Negro market is increasingly deserving of the attention of astute business interests." The study is actually the second annual checkup of its kind conducted for the Howard rep outfit. Last year's report covered 1 5 major markets (in each of which Howard represents a station). This year's study has been expanded to 24 markets (again, there is a Howard-repped station in each), but a number of year-to-year comparisons were drawn between the two since the original 15 markets Crosley Head: XATV Regulation Needed Albany, N.Y. — Dubbing CATV as a "transparent link between the viewer and the broadcaster," John T. Murphy, president of Crosley Broadcasting Corp., told the NAB Fall Conference held in Albany that he is in "complete accord" with recommendations for legislation giving the FCC authority to regulate CATV. Murphy declared that "regulation in this type of business is necessary. It is not evil. Regulation has not hurt, in fact you may well agree with me that it has helped broadcasters." Asserting that most CATV systems are doing "an excellent job," Murphy said. "As a broadcaster and CATV operator. I cannot see any area where proper CATV reg ulation can be a hardship on CATV or a broadcaster — it can only help both of them." Murphy further pointed out that the FCC can quickly show its worth in the area of technical standards. He said CATV operators should be required to adhere to technical standards and proposed that such standards be drawn up by a committee of CATV operators, broadcasters and FCC personnel. Shifting to pay tv. the Crosley president declared: "Personally. 1 cannot see pay tv even getting off the ground in competition with our present free television system." pointing to the recent decision by California voters to prohibit any form of pay tv in their state. were measured in both the studies. Key 1963-64 comparison: in the 1 5 original markets (New York. Los Angeles. Cleveland, etc.), Negro total income jumped, between 1963 and 1964, more than ?>500 million with Negro spending for consumer goods and services by nearly $400 million. In New York and Los Angeles, Negro household income jumped by more than $100 million in each market. The over-all figures for the 24 markets checked — which represent (since Negroes tend to "cluster" in urban areas today) 38 percent of the Negro population of the U.S. and 40 percent of Negro buying nower — are enough to make any advertiser slightly dizzy: • Food: Largest single category of Negro spending is food products in the Howard 24-market list. The figure is more than $1.8 billion. • General merchandise: Runnerup category is this catch-all, which does not include wearing apparel, household items, appliances, automotive and drug purchases. The figure was more than $980 million. • Automotive products: Negro homes are car-minded homes, and ownership is at a high level. In the 24 markets studied, Negro spending for automotive products topped $726 million, with an extra $325 million spent in gasoline service stations. • Apparel: Appearance-conscious Negroes spend a large slice of their budgets for clothing, and represent a major market in this area alone. The figure topped $442 million. Currently enjoying a bumper year in spot radio orders for Negroappeal stations, the Howard study concluded: "It is important to keep in mind that the constant social upheaval in the Negro's life has conditioned him to think, consider and respond as a Negro. It is not likely that he will be able to disregard this conditioned response in the immediate future. This makes the use of Negro media almost mandatory to the success of advertising directed to the Negro." 22 SPONSOR )R U i